Department of Orthopaedics, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Wenhuaxi Road 107, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, People's Republic of China.
Shandong University, Wenhuaxi Road 107, Jinan, Shandong Province, People's Republic of China.
Biol Trace Elem Res. 2024 Nov;202(11):4988-4999. doi: 10.1007/s12011-023-04048-6. Epub 2024 Jan 4.
Glucocorticoid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (SONFH) is the most prevalent form of secondary osteonecrosis affecting the femoral head. Glucocorticoids can cause damage to both vascular endothelial cells and osteoblasts. Previous studies have demonstrated that silicon can improve the resistance of vascular endothelial cells to oxidative stress and positively impact bone health. However, the impact of silicon on SONFH has yet to be investigated. We examined the influence of ortho-silicic acid (OSA, Si(OH)4) on the apoptosis and proliferation of vascular endothelial cells after glucocorticoid induction. Additionally, we evaluated the expression of apoptosis-related genes such as cleaved-caspase-3, Bcl-2 and Bax. The impact of glucocorticoids and OSA on the function of vascular endothelial cells was evaluated through wound healing, transwell and angiogenesis assays. Osteogenic function was subsequently evaluated through alizarin red staining, alkaline phosphatase staining and expression levels of osteogenic genes like RUNX2 and ALP. Moreover, we investigated the potential role of OSA in vivo using the SONFH animal model. At concentrations below 100 μM, OSA exhibits no toxicity on vascular endothelial cells and effectively reverses glucocorticoid-induced apoptosis in these cells. OSA increases the resilience of vascular endothelial cells against oxidative stress and enhances osteoblast differentiation. Our study revealed that glucocorticoids activate endoplasmic reticulum stress, a process that mediates the apoptosis of vascular endothelial cells. OSA ameliorated the endoplasmic reticulum stress associated with glucocorticoids through the increased expression of p-Akt levels. In vivo, OSA treatment effectively improved SONFH by enhancing vascular endothelial cell function and promoting osteogenic differentiation. OSA counteracted the adverse effects of glucocorticoids both in vitro and in vivo, demonstrating a beneficial therapeutic effect on SONFH.
糖皮质激素诱导性股骨头坏死(SONFH)是影响股骨头的继发性骨坏死中最常见的形式。糖皮质激素可导致血管内皮细胞和成骨细胞损伤。先前的研究表明,硅可以提高血管内皮细胞对氧化应激的抵抗力,并对骨骼健康产生积极影响。然而,硅对 SONFH 的影响尚未得到研究。我们研究了正硅酸(OSA,Si(OH)4)对糖皮质激素诱导后血管内皮细胞凋亡和增殖的影响。此外,我们还评估了凋亡相关基因如 cleaved-caspase-3、Bcl-2 和 Bax 的表达。通过划痕愈合、Transwell 和血管生成实验评估了糖皮质激素和 OSA 对血管内皮细胞功能的影响。随后通过茜素红染色、碱性磷酸酶染色和 RUNX2 和 ALP 等成骨基因的表达水平评估成骨功能。此外,我们使用 SONFH 动物模型研究了 OSA 在体内的潜在作用。在低于 100 μM 的浓度下,OSA 对血管内皮细胞没有毒性,并能有效逆转这些细胞中糖皮质激素诱导的凋亡。OSA 增加了血管内皮细胞对氧化应激的抵抗力,并增强了成骨细胞分化。我们的研究表明,糖皮质激素激活内质网应激,这一过程介导了血管内皮细胞的凋亡。OSA 通过增加 p-Akt 水平的表达,改善了与糖皮质激素相关的内质网应激。在体内,OSA 通过增强血管内皮细胞功能和促进成骨细胞分化,有效改善了 SONFH。OSA 在体外和体内均拮抗了糖皮质激素的不良作用,对 SONFH 具有有益的治疗效果。